The Trade
by lovefromitaly
Summary: Nothing in the world mattered more to Elle Gold than her father. So when naive Elle accidentally opens a portal to Neverland, naturally Rumpelstlitskin will stop at nothing to save his daughter. But, Elle would gladly give up anything at all to ensure her Papa's safety. When Peter Pan traps her in a corner, what will she give up to save her father?
1. Chapter 1

I OWN NOTHING BUT ELLE GOLD!

Frantic was the only word that could be used to describe Elle Gold as she tore through her father's shop on Sunday morning. She had spent all morning searching through all of the trinkets and bobbles that decorated her father's store, but couldn't find what she was looking for. With her eighteenth birthday approaching, she knew her father had something special that he planned to give her. With only twenty more minutes until her father was due to arrive and open the shop for the day, she grew more and more panicked that she wouldn't find what she was looking for. It was then that she became truly desperate and decided to venture into the back of the store-the only place her father ordered her never to enter. She could never understand why he was so secretive of what was in the back room. She and her father were so close, and Elle adored him. She hated that she kept things from her, but he always warned her that it was, "for her own good", or "to keep her safe".

"Safe from what?" She wondered.

Elle knew her father was not the most well liked man in Storybrooke, but she couldn't imagine anyone trying to hurt him or her, or Belle. She knew her beloved papa had a tendency to be a little overprotective. Well…perhaps a little more than overprotective. But Elle knew his heart was always in the right place. If she knew one thing, she knew her father was a good man who loved her more than anything. Elle owed everything good in her life to the man that so many feared and despised.

You see, Elle didn't know who her biological parents were. When Regina cast the curse and Storybrooke was created, Elle was found in the woods, bundled in a small, pink blanket. It was Mr. Gold who found her and decided to take the helpless baby girl and raise her as his daughter. There was nothing Elle wanted, or needed that she didn't have. No expense was spared when it came to Rumplestilskin's tiny princess. Even as an infant, she was beautiful. She had a full head of soft, dark hair, and big brown eyes surrounded by thick, long black eyelashes. He couldn't say no to her, he was wrapped around her tiny fingers since he laid his eyes on her.

As Elle blossomed into a young woman, Mr. Gold grew more and more protective of his "princess as pure as gold". But, he couldn't help but to be proud of the way she had grown up. Elle was selfless, always thinking of others before herself. She valued kindness and generosity over wit and vanity. She was also impossibly modest. In short, it was impossible not to love her. Many people in Storybrooke said that Elle was Mr. Gold's only redeeming quality. Many wondered how a man who once was so dark, could raise someone who was nothing short of wonderful.

Elle knew of her father's checkered past. He had tried to shield her from it as a child, but Storybrooke was a small town. So as she grew, she heard bits and pieces, and eventually put the pieces together for herself. But to Elle, it didn't matter. She knew the man her papa truly was: kind, loving, and gentle. And that was all that mattered to her. And when Belle came into the picture, Elle couldn't be happier that Papa was with someone he loved, and that loved him in return. Together, the three of them became a cozy, happy family.

But today, Elle needed to know what her dear Papa was hiding from her. So silently, she crept into the back room of the store. As she tiptoed around, she stumbled across an object that caught her eye. There, on the windowsill, was a long gold necklace, with a star-shaped diamond pendant. It was the most beautiful thing Elle had ever seen. It glistened in the sunlight shining through the curtains of the dusty old window.

"That must be it!" she thought. She couldn't believe her Papa and Belle had gotten her something so beautiful. Now that she had found what she was looking for, and only felt _slightly_ guilty for snooping, Elle made her way to the front of the store. But before Elle could reach the threshold to leave the back room, an old book caught her eye. The cover and binding of the book was a dark mossy green and the pages looked like they were made of pure gold. The front of the book read ,"The Little White Bird" by J.M. Barrie.

"Isn't that the story of Peter Pan?" Elle wondered. Elle knew that Storybrooke was made up of characters from fairytales from the Enchanted Forest. But Elle didn't recall Peter Pan being someone in Storybrooke.

"I guess they missed this one." Elle said aloud.

As she opened the book she discovered that the pages had been hollowed out, and in the center of the book was a bundle of cloth. Elle couldn't help but wonder what was in the cloth so she put down the book, and began to unravel the soft bundle of fabric. When the cloth was unfolded, all that Elle saw was a bean.

What happened next happened too quickly for Elle to comprehend. As her fingers wrapped around the bean, she heard the chime of her father entering the store, and all of a sudden there was a burst of light that knocked Elle off of her feet. She screamed, and fell onto her back, and all of a sudden she felt something dragging her into the blinding light.

"Papa!" she screamed.

She heard her father's footsteps, and the last thing she saw was his horrified face as he screamed, "Elle! No!"

All that came after that was deafening silence and utter blackness.


	2. Chapter 2

The next thing Elle felt was a sharp pain her head, and a ringing in her ear. Slowly, she opened her eyes, sat up, and drew in a sharp breath.

"Why am I on a beach?" she wondered. All she could see was endless crystal clear water, white sand, and then nothing but jungle for what looked like miles. This place was beautiful, but still Elle couldn't understand why she was here. Then, like a bolt of lightning, she remembered it all-the book, the bean, the blinding white light, and the horrified expression on Papa's face.

Slowly, in the pit of her stomach, she felt fear creeping in on her, taking over her whole body, and paralyzing her. As she surveyed her surroundings, she racked her brain for what land she could be in. She remembered stories that Belle and Papa told of the Enchanted Forest, and the place she was in did not fit their description. Before Elle could ponder over her whereabouts any longer, she saw a burst of bright light about a mile off of where she sat. She realized it was identical to the same burst of light that brought her here. That's when she realized that "light" was a portal. Which meant that someone from Storybrooke could be coming from that portal. She looked up and saw what looked like a man standing on the shore. She stood and walked cautiously towards the figure. As she approached, the figure became clearer until she realized…

"Papa!" she shouted. She picked up the hem of her pink skirt, and began to run at her father. She ran faster than she ever thought she could, and didn't stop until she was safe in her father's arms.

"Elle, " he breathed. Then he pulled away and said, "Elle what were you thinking? I forbid you from ever going into the back of the shop, and you deliberately disobeyed me!"

Elle had never seen her father that angry. And the few times he had been angry, it was never directed at her. Slowly, her eyes began to well up with tears and her lower lip began to tremble.

"Papa…" she began. "I'm sorry! I…I didn't know! I was just curious, I…I didn't know, I didn't mean for this to happen! I'm so sorry! Please don't be angry with me." Elle sobbed.

Slowly, Rumplestilskin's rage melted away, and he began to wipe away his daughter's tears as he said, "My darling, you know everything I've ever told you is to keep you safe. But now…we're in a place that is incredibly dangerous, and difficult for me to keep you safe."

Slowly, Elle looked up and said, "Papa…. where are we?"

"Neverland, dearie."

"You mean Neverland, like the Peter Pan story?" Elle asked.

"Elle, you must understand this quickly, Neverland is not the same place here as it is described in the books back in our world. And neither is Peter Pan." As he said this, Elle could see her Papa's eyes darting around the tree line like he was searching for something.

"But Papa, isn't Peter Pan just a boy?" Elle questioned frantically.

"He may look like a boy my dear, but remember this-he is a bloody demon."

Not even as the words left her Papa's mouth, they heard a young male voice in the distance call out, "Not spreading lies about me are you, laddie?"

Elle's eyes darted where the voice was coming from and her eyes found a boy who looked like he was her age, maybe a year older. He was dressed in different shades of green and brown, and his ensemble looked like it was sowed by a ten year old. At his waist was a belt with a sharp daggered attached to it, and his feet were clad in brown leather boots. Her eyes traveled up to his face, he had pale, porcelain like skin that looked like it was covered in dirt, and messy sandy brown hair. But what was most striking about him were his eyes. They looked at her with such intensity that she had never experienced before, and they were just so _green. _She had never seen anything like it.

"He's very handsome," thought Elle. But there was something about him that seemed so utterly dark that Elle had a twisted feeling in her stomach anytime she dared to look at him. Truthfully, Elle was frightened of him. But, she had Papa here to keep her safe. Nothing bad ever happened when Papa was around.

Papa grabbing her arm and pulling her behind him snapped Elle out of her thoughts.

"Pan," Papa shouted. "Leave her alone, and let her go home. I'll do whatever you ask, just give her permission to leave the island."

"Papa, what do you mean?" Elle asked.

Elle hardly blinked and all of a sudden, the boy appeared next to her. She gasped, startled, and clung closer to her father.

Seeing this, an awful smirk graced the boy's handsome features, and he said, "You see, love. I control all things on this island. And no one can enter, or leave without my permission. But, I'm afraid I don't quite want to let you go. I think there is a great game to be played here."

Elle's heart began to speed up, and she saw what she could only describe as an army of boys coming through the trees.

"Great, he's got an army," she thought bitterly.

As if he heard her thoughts, he said, "Oh! Have you met my boys?"

Without missing a beat, she and her Papa were slowly surrounded by a large group of dirty, intimidating boys. Some were tall, and some were even taller. Elle felt impossibly small amongst these boys. One boy in particular caught her eye. He was tall, and he was wearing a hood, but Elle could see enough of his face that she was able to make out a long, horrible scar that went across his face. The boy smirked as he caught Elle staring him.

Elle turned her attention back to Pan as he said, "Oh, how rude of me. I've completely forgotten my manners," his eyes sparkled mischievously as he continued, "I realize, Miss Elle, that we haven't been formerly introduced. I'm Peter. Peter Pan." He then bowed, and looked up at her mockingly with a smile so sickeningly sweet.

Rumplestilskin snarled and said, "You don't get to talk to her. You stay away from her and send her home."

Pan's smirk widened and he said, "Now, laddie I don't think you are in any position to be making demands. The game has yet to begin, and I think our princess here will make a lovely player, won't you love?"

Elle didn't know how to respond to anything he was saying. All she felt in her stomach was a twisted knot that she couldn't get rid of, and it worsened whenever he spoke to her. All of a sudden, she felt two pairs of hands yank her away from her Papa, and she began to scream. She saw Papa's hands reach out and she thought he was going to do something with his magic when all of a sudden a cuff appeared on his wrist.

"Ah, ah, ah. Now Rumpel, we can't have you ruining all the fun. I think it would be best if we separated father and daughter for a little while. Take them away, boys." Pan said roughishly.

She opened her mouth to scream for Papa, but before she could even make a sound she was overcome by darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR ELLE GOLD.

AUTHOR NOTE: Pan is not Rumple's father in this story, they are instead childhood friends. However, Pan still trades Rumple for youth, as Pan took care of Rumple as a child.

_Something isn't right. _

Elle felt a tightening in her chest.

_Where is Papa? _

Why couldn't she remember anything? Why couldn't she sit up? She tried to wiggle her fingers, but it felt like her whole body was frozen in place. The tightening in her chest only increased as a million thoughts began to race through her head.

_Did I get into an accident? _

She didn't remember driving anywhere.

_Was Papa there?_

She didn't remember seeing Papa _or _Belle.

_Is he okay? _

This was the question that Elle was afraid to contemplate. She couldn't understand why she felt like she had lost all feeling in her body. She couldn't explain the darkness that she was engulfed in. If she couldn't answer those simple questions, she didn't want to entertain the possibility that Papa could be in some kind of danger.

Then, like a shock, she felt water engulfing her and her eyes shot open. Immediately she took in her surroundings. The ceiling she was staring at looked like it was made of bamboo, or some kind of wood. As she looked around, she realized that she was in some kind of hut. Then she remembered. She was in Neverland. Her and Papa had been separated. Pan was out to make her a player in one of his games, but Elle would refuse to be apart of them. When she tried to push herself up to sit, she realized her arms were bound behind her back, and her feet were bound together in some kind of rope.

Then she heard laughing. She turned her head to find the source of the laughter, and her eyes came across the scarred face of one of the Lost Boys she had seen on the beach. Anger flared in the pit of Elle's stomach.

"How dare you," she began angrily, "You have five seconds to untie me, get me a towel, and show me where my father is. And I wouldn't dilly dally if I were you. My Papa isn't known for being a forgiving man, and when he sees what you've done...well, let's just say he'll be less than understanding." Elle seethed. She was a kind person, but her kindness ended when someone tied her up and dumped water on her. After that, she spoke with the power that one would expect the Dark One's daughter to have. However, her words only seemed to make the Lost Boy laugh harder. And it wasn't the kind of laugh that made you want to join in and laugh too. It was the kind of laugh that a bully would exude when they've made their target cry. When his laughter began to die he sneered and said, "Aw, isn't that sweet? The Dark One's little princess has teeth. Pan will like that."

"I don't _care_ what Pan does or doesn't like. In fact I would like to be the epitome of everything he dislikes. And princess or not, why would you tie up a girl? Have you no manners whatsoever? You certainly don't look, or smell like a gentleman, but show a little courtesy and cut me out of these ropes!" Elle had never been this angry in her whole life.

The boy's face darkened and he stalked towards her, invading her personal space, and leaned towards her face. Elle stiffened, she didn't want him anywhere near her and though she didn't want to admit it, she was afraid of this boy. And if she was afraid of _him,_ she could only imagine what it would be like when she had to deal with Pan. He was so close to her that his breath tickled her ear as he said, "You'll find there aren't many _gentleman_ here." He pulled back and the look in his eyes scared Elle right to her core. He looked at her, hungrily, the way a starved person would look at a piece of food. But before things could go any further, they heard a voice from the corner of the room.

"Careful, Felix. We don't want to upset our guest." Elle's eyes shot to where the voice was coming from and she saw Pan leaning against the wall, arms folded, smiling devilishly. The boy whose name Elle knew now was Felix pulled away from her quickly, and stood straight as a rod. Elle saw something flicker in Pan's eyes as he looked at Felix. Whatever it was, it made Felix leave the room immediately.

As much as she didn't like Felix, Elle liked being alone with Pan even less. She began to shiver because she was still sopping wet, and, although she'd never let Pan know, dread from whatever was to come. Pan pushed off the wall and began to walk toward her, and unconsciously Elle tried to shift herself backwards to put some distance between the two of them. Pan saw this and chuckled.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she huffed.

"I'm not laughing at you, I just find you amusing." His eyes glittered with the anticipation of a child.

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you, but I am not here for your amusement." She said bravely.

"Oh, love. You'll soon realize that everyone here is here for my amusement." He said as his expression darkened.

"Who do you think you are? Some kind of demented king who makes his subjects dance around for him like jesters?" She spat.

His face slowly changed until he glared at her with a sinister expression and said through gritted teeth, "If I were you, I would be much kinder to the person who controls your fate."

"You may think you control an awful lot here, but you'll never control me." She hissed.

Unflinchingly, Pan walked to the bed Elle was sitting on and hoisted her up roughly by her arm. Elle's eyes widened at their sudden close proximity, and she drew in a sharp breath when she saw Pan reach to his belt and pull out a sharp dagger. Pan snickered as he cut her bindings and said, "Well Miss Elle, we'll just have to put that theory of yours to the test, now won't we?"

He took her wrist harshly, and pulled her out of the hut. As he dragged her behind him relentlessly through the jungle, she felt thorns and vines snagging at her skin, and pulling on her skirt. She grimaced, stumbling over herself while having a great deal of difficulty keeping up with him.

Then all of a sudden he stopped abruptly, causing Elle to slam into him. Then, striking quick like a snake, he whirled her around placing her in front of him, her back to his front and grabbed her by the shoulders. She struggled, trying to get out of his grip, but he leaned into her and hissed, "How would you like to see your dear Papa?"

She stilled, and said, "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"Take it easy princess, dear old Dad is just fine." As soon as the words left his mouth, Elle saw Felix pushing her Papa out of a similar looking hut. She couldn't contain her happiness, seeing him alive and right in front of her. She wiggled out of Pan's grasp, and ran towards him.

"Papa!" she exclaimed. She ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, unable to stop tears from falling from her eyes. Slowly, Rumplestiltskin wrapped his arms around her, and gently held her. When Elle pulled away, she noticed the cuff was still on her father's wrist.

Concerned, she asked, "Papa, what is that thing on your wrist? What have they done to you?" She knew there must be something taking away his magic because if he could use his magic they would have been long home by now.

Slowly, he uttered, "The cuff on my wrist makes me unable to perform magic. I am powerless here, dearie."

Fear restricted her heart, and she felt the dread creeping up on her again. How were they ever going to leave this awful place?

As if he read her mind, she heard Pan mockingly call out, "Isn't this touching, lads? Father and daughter reunited again. Or rather, the Dark One and his little princess." Elle looked around and saw the Lost Boys snickering at their leader's words. As she examined the group of boys, she saw most of them looked like they were her own age. They weren't young children like she always assumed they would be. She knew she couldn't underestimate these teenagers. They all seemed ruthless, and cunning-just like their leader.

She felt her father stepping in front of her, and heard him once again plead, "Pan, let her go. I'll give you whatever you want. Just let her go. She has so much ahead of her, she is so young, and she doesn't deserve this."

Pan pondered this idea for a moment and said, "How do you know she wants to leave, Rumple?"

"My daughter is smart enough to stay away from the likes of you." Rumplestiltskin growled.

"Is she? What if her and I make a bargain? I know how you so love to make deals. Am I right, Rumple?" he smirked.

Before Rumple could even protest, a pair of Lost Boys dragged him away from Elle, and he began to shout, "Elle, no! Whatever he says dear, you can't believe him! He's a cheat, he always has been!" Pan's eyes shot over to where Rumplestiltskin was standing and nodded to the pair of Lost Boys holding him. Another Lost Boy stepped over to where Rumple was, and proceeded to punch him in the stomach.

"Papa, no!" Elle tried to run to help him, but Felix instantly restrained her.

"Get your hands off me, you creep! Let me go!" Elle kept struggling, but Felix was much stronger than she was and held her in a vice-like grip.

Pan smirked, and walked over to where Elle and Felix were standing and began, "Elle, you really love your father, don't you?" Elle glared at him as he continued, "Well, Miss Elle, I'm prepared to offer you a deal. A trade, you might say."

Elle looked up at him, and asked tentatively, "What is it you want, Pan?"

Pan's eyes lit up as he continued on, "Well, love, I can offer you a choice. Whatever you choose is up to you. I promise whatever you decide; I will honor my end of the deal. I may not be the most well behaved boy on the island, but I always keep my promises."

Elle nodded slowly, and Pan carried on, "Your choice, my darling, you can be free to leave Neverland," he paused, and Elle knew then that it was too good to be true, that he must want something awful if he was going to actually let her go. She couldn't even look at him, anytime their eyes met she felt like her stomach was turning inside out. He walked closer to Elle getting close enough where he could reach out and touch her face and murmured, "But if you decide to leave Neverland, you will watch your father be killed." Elle inhaled sharply, and felt tears prick her eyes. She couldn't believe this was happening. That was when she realized that her father was right; this was no boy she was dealing with. He was truly the devil in disguise.

Pan chuckled at her horrified expression, and ran his hand along the side of her face as he said, "Or, I will let your father go, and you will stay here in Neverland-forever. You will not try to run, or escape me. You will belong to me."

Elle's blood ran cold at his soft words. She didn't know that someone could be so wicked. She looked up at him with tears now falling freely from her eyes as she whispered, "You're a _monster." _

Pan grabbed Elle's chin and purred with malice, "If I were a monster, he would already be gutted, and you would be my prisoner with no chance of ever leaving. You should be grateful." As he said these words his grip on Elle's chin increased to the point where Elle was sure it would bruise.

Rumplestiltskin called out weakly, "Elle, no! You don't know what you're doing! I've lived my life, go out and live yours! You can't stay here with him! He will hurt you!"

Tears ran down Elle's face, and her lips quivered. She knew what she had to do; she just wished it didn't hurt as bad as it did. She flinched as Pan wiped away her tears and caressed her face. "What'll it be, princess?" he hummed.

Elle lifted her chin up, and looked over at her father. The person she loved more than anything in this world. She couldn't stand to see him in pain. There was nothing he had ever denied her. She knew he lived a hard life, and had been through much pain. She wanted him to have the happiness he deserved, even if that meant removing herself from the picture.

Her eyes glittered with tears as she said, "Papa, I love you more than anything in the whole wide world. You've always given me the stars and the moon, which is more than I could ever ask for. But, I can't ask you to die for me, I'm sorry."  
>What happened next happened in the blink of an eye. Rumplestiltskin realized what his daughter was saying, and he shouted, "Elle, no!"<p>

While Elle turned her head to Pan, his eager green eyes locked with her sorrowful brown eyes, and said, "I'm yours, you have a deal."


	4. Chapter 4

I own nothing except for Elle Gold!

As soon as the words left her mouth, Elle felt her heart sink. She knew she was doing the right thing for her Papa by saving him, but what had she really just agreed to? She swallowed hard, and let the tears fall freely from her eyes, cascading down her face.

The triumph on Pan's face made her stomach twist, and her insides tremor. His smile lit his face up in a way that made him look very handsome, but there was something underneath of that smile that made him much more sinister than he appeared on the surface.

She heard her Papa yelling and when she turned to look at him, her heart broke. She had never seen her Papa so distraught. She turned her head back to face Pan and asked quietly, "Can I at least say goodbye?"

She watched as his eyebrow quirked, and as his lips curved up into a wolfish smirk.

"I suppose a minute won't hurt." He grabbed her arm, and pulled her close to his face as he warned, "But Elle, if you try anything funny," his grip on her arm increased, "It'll be the last thing you ever do." He stepped back and let her go, and she swallowed hard. How was she going to spend eternity with this beast? She turned and ran to her father, wrapping her thin, dirty arms around him and holding him as tight as she possibly could. She felt him pull away and she could barely stifle the tears she felt well in her eyes, as she looked at her father so distraught.

He put his hands on her face and said, "I will find a way back to you. I will not leave you here." He opened his mouth to say something else, but Elle felt rough hands tear her away from her father, and as she began to protest, she saw a shadow grab her father by the shoulders and lift him from the ground into the sky.

She felt her heart wrench in her chest, and she screamed in agony, panicking now at the thought that that could have truly been the last time she could ever see her father, and she didn't even get to tell him she loved him, or even properly say goodbye.

She felt a sob stir in her throat, and she wiped away the now angry tears from her eyes in search for Pan. When her eyes landed on him, she felt nothing but hatred toward this boy-demon. She marched up to him, feeling the anger swell in her chest, and stood as close to him as she would allow herself and said, "How dare you? I didn't even get to say goodbye!" She poked at his chest, and opened her mouth to continue to yell at him, but she felt his fingers wrap around her wrist and she winced.

She lifted her head up, and dared to look into his eyes. Although his face looked eerily calm, his eyes were filled with cold rage. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she swallowed nervously. She hadn't even been here for a day and she had managed to make him angry. How was she going to live like this for eternity? Unless…he didn't plan on letting her live that long.

His grip on her wrist tightened as he said, "You should know, _princess, _that most people don't live after talking to me like that." He pulled her in close, and growled, "But since it's your first day, I suppose I'll make an exception." He threw her arm away from him, and she stumbled, trying not to fall over herself. She shook as Pan called all of his "boys" to attention.

"Alright boys, as you see we have a new _guest_ among us. She is going to be with us for quite sometime, so I expect you all to make her feel at home. If I find that any harm has come to her, you know the consequences."

Elle watched some of the younger boys gulp in fright as Pan delivered his lecture. The older boys, however, just stood like soldiers at quiet attention.

'How long had all of these boys been here?' She wondered. Were any of them prisoners like she was? Or were they all here voluntarily? She couldn't help but feel sorry for the younger ones. They shouldn't be here fighting, and hunting in the woods. They should be with their families in a safe, loving home. She looked at the wooded area around her, and scoffed to herself. This place would _never_ be her home.

Elle was disrupted from her thoughts, as she heard Pan dismiss the boys. When she turned to see where everyone had gone, she only saw Pan and Felix whispering quietly to each other. However, as soon as Pan noticed she was watching them, which was almost immediately, they stopped talking and Felix left the clearing abruptly.

Elle grimaced as she felt the twisted feeling in her stomach return as she was once again left alone with Pan. She hadn't decided yet if it would be a good idea to walk away from him, or not. She wanted to live long enough to find a way out of here, or for her Papa to get her, and she couldn't do that if she didn't know her way around. She also didn't want to make him angry enough to kill her, but she knew that would be a difficult task in itself. She didn't like him, and he had no reason to like her. So, she ended up just standing there, her thin arms folded across her chest, waiting for him to say something.

But he didn't say anything. Not for what felt like an eternity. He just stood there, leaning against a tree with his arms folded, staring at her. It wasn't long before Elle grew uncomfortable. She just wanted him to stop looking at her. Pan must have noticed because he smirked and said, "Does it make you uncomfortable when I do that, love?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pan." She turned and faced away from him. She couldn't bear to see his eyes burning into her for another minute. But when she turned away from him, he appeared right in front of her. Much too close for her comfort.

"Don't lie to me. I will always know when you are lying. Lesson number one, Lost Girl."

"Don't call me a Lost Girl. I'm not one of your minions you can just send around to do your bidding, and I'm certainly not lost!" She spit out.

He glared at her and took a step towards her, but that was too much for Elle, so she took a step backwards. This continued until she felt the rough bark of a tree hit her back.

"You may not be lost now, princess. But, you will be."

"What does that even mean?" She demanded. "And stop calling me a princess. It sounds twisted and wrong when you say it."

He leaned into her, and she could smell his breath fan against her face. They stayed still like that for a moment, and she felt her heart speed up. The twisting in her stomach had reached a new high, and she felt lightheaded. She hated that this demon had this kind of effect on her. How was it possible for someone to make her this nervous, and afraid? She looked into his eyes, and the fierceness she saw in them scared her.

"I think in time, you'll come to like your nickname. Just as you'll come to like Neverland."

She breathed in sharply and said, "Let's make one thing clear, Pan. I traded myself for my father. I agreed to belong to you forever and to not try to escape you. But I never agreed to like Neverland, or you for that matter."

She thought she saw hurt flash over his face, but it was gone so quickly and replaced by a cold sneer that it was like it was never there to begin with.

"As long as we're making things clear, _princess," _he spat out the nickname this time, "You agreed to belong to me. And that means you belong to me, and only me. So get whatever ridiculous notions you have in your head of being rescued by your family because in the end, you will never get away from me."

Elle tried to retract from him, but he only moved in closer and put his hand on her cheek as he said, "You did promise me forever, after all."


End file.
